Intoxication
by Lovely Little Muse
Summary: I stared into her eyes, vacant, haunting, and yet still hopelessly intoxicating. We were connected, and I knew that she understood. I didn’t know how and I didn’t know why. But then my mouth was on hers, and none of it mattered." PostHBP. Oneshot HGDM.
1. Haunted

**Intoxication – Chapter 1: Haunted**

Rain pounded hard on the school grounds. The world had been crying for days. There was no more hope for the light side. It was actually amazing that they'd lasted as long as they had. I think everyone had been waiting for Harry Potter to jump in to save them. He was killed almost a year to the day after Dumbledore had died.

It wasn't a particularly extraordinary battle. He had survived many which were much worse. Don't get me wrong, he died heroically. That bastard wouldn't go out any other way.

It was raining. It was always raining these days. There were only about 20 of us that night when we arrived at Hogwarts, but Voldemort was there in person. They met us in front of the castle; we outnumbered them by nearly 2 to 1. I recognized all of them at the time, but remembered only a few. Among them were Potter and Granger. He immediately sought me out, apparently determined to seek revenge for the two Weasleys.

_We had already decided it would be quick and clean. Don't bother with injuries; go straight for the kill. He threw a curse at me. I dodged it, but it struck me hard in the shoulder. I stumbled back, reeling. I was about to fire a killing curse at him, but stopped mid-spell. A female scream pierced the air._

_It was her._

_Potter turned. It was my chance, but I didn't take it. I was fixated on her. Hermione Granger, locked in combat with Lord Voldemort. She was writhing on the ground. By the time I snapped to, Potter was already sprinting across the mud to reach her. _

_He attacked Voldemort himself, throwing a myriad of curses, all of which the Dark Lord blocked. Meanwhile, Granger stood up and I shifted my gaze to her. She was shaking in fury, with a look of determination in her deep chocolate eyes. She lifted her wand and began to form words. Avada Kedavra. Voldemort's attention was pulled away from Potter and he threw up a shield. Granger's spell was deterred and thrown back at her._ _Everything stopped. Someone yelled. Only later would I realize that it was me. In the blink of an eye, it was over._

_And Harry Potter lay dead in the arms of the beautiful girl._

A few days later, Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic. It had been three weeks since that night, and not a day had gone by that I was not reminded of it. I saw her everywhere I went. Every day I was haunted by those deep chocolate eyes. They were intoxicating.

Each night I laid and thought about the moment in which that scream penetrated the thick darkness. That moment gave me the chance to kill Potter, but I didn't take it. In that split second, I could have murdered the bane of my existence, the Boy Who Lived, a living legend, the mortal enemy of the lord I found myself forced to serve. But I didn't take it.

I didn't know what it was about her. She was my weakness. And if there was anything I had learned from my father, it was that weakness is not an option.


	2. Connection

**Intoxication – Chapter 2: Connection**

It was supposed to be an easy operation. Everything was planned perfectly and laid out precisely. The trick would be to make it inside the castle without anyone noticing.

We actually made it as far as the Great Hall undetected. That was further than I had expected. Voldemort had to have known that security would be tight. They found us in the Great Hall and the fight began there. In any case, it wasn't a difficult battle. They didn't have a chance.

I was too caught up in the fight to have time to look for her. By the time we were done, all those who opposed us were dead. I tried to casually scan the bodies for that all-too-familiar chestnut hair, but I didn't find her. I knew I wouldn't. I would've felt it if she'd died.

Voldemort ordered us to search the castle from top to bottom and kill everyone we found. I set off knowing exactly where I was going, but without knowing why.

Eventually I reached the portrait hole for the Gryffindor dormitories. The door was wide open, and the Fat Lady had vacated her painting. I stepped carefully into the common room with my wand easily accessible in the sleeve of my robes. As I expected, the common room was empty. Although Gryffindor had the highest number of students return after they closed the school, most of them had probably fled when they heard the battle in the Great Hall.

I still felt her pull. She was there, I knew it. I walked slowly up the stairs to the girls' dorms. One by one, I opened the doors that lined the hall. After closing the door of the third room I checked, I took a deep breath. There was only one left. I cautiously opened the door, steeling myself for what lay ahead, although I had no idea what it may be.

But the room was empty. I was so sure she was here. I mentally beat myself for being so stupid. _'What did you think was going to happen, Draco?'_ I didn't even know.

Back in the common room, I was about to leave and follow through with Voldemort's orders, continuing to search the castle. But I halted in my tracks at the sound of wind blowing through an open window, coming from the boys' dormitories.

It came from the second door in the hall. I drew my wand, prepared for a fight, and threw open the door.

My wand-wielding arm immediately fell limply to my side.

Hermione Granger sat on the sill of the open window, staring out at the lake on the edge of the grounds. As I burst through the door, she slowly turned her head to look at me, and I nearly gasped out loud.

She was skin and bones. In the past three weeks, she had quite literally wasted away. Her usually bushy chestnut hair hung limply around her shoulders. Being wet from the rain, a few strands stuck to her face and neck. Her skin was as white as a ghost's, except for the dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes were her most haunting feature, so different from when I had seen them sparkling with fury and determination those three long weeks ago. I no longer gazed into the deep chocolate pools I had gotten lost in. This girl looked at me blankly with shallow, dull eyes. Her expression was vacant.

An eternity passed as we stared at each other. I couldn't break my gaze, for I was desperate for this contact, desperate to be connected.

She was the first to break the silence in a voice that was almost a whisper. "Will you do me a favor, Malfoy?"

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. So I answered as I would have a year ago. "Probably not, Granger, but that depends on what it is."

She gazed at me a moment longer in silence, then turned back to look out into the darkness. Finally she turned back to me, gazing with that same empty look in her eyes that made me think she didn't even see me. "Will you promise to make it quick?"

A single tear escaped her. My own eyes traced its path over her cheekbone, much more pronounced than it had been three weeks ago, then down to her jawbone. It hung precariously for a moment before falling onto her hands, clasped in her lap. One single tear shed for her world, lost.

Before I knew what was happening, I took three long strides and grabbed her by her upper arms, pulling her roughly to her feet. She stumbled and was pressed even closer to me. A current of electricity surged through my veins, lighting them on fire, quickly followed by a flush of ice water. My skin was blazing everywhere it was in contact with hers. I stared into her eyes, vacant, haunting, and yet still hopelessly intoxicating. We were connected, and I knew that she understood. I didn't know how and I didn't know why. But then my mouth was on hers, and none of it mattered.

Her lips were cold as they met mine. My right hand trailed slowly up her arm to her neck, and my fingers lightly traced her collarbone, then tangled in her hair. My tongue delicately traced the line of her bottom lip before I sucked on it gently. Her lips parted, granting me access, and our tongues met, adding fuel to the flames still burning under my skin.

Her arms, which had been hanging limply at her sides, came up to embrace me and pull us closer together. I tugged at her hair, still entwined around my fingers, and she moaned, pressing her pelvis into mine. My free hand came down to rest on her hip, keeping her in place. When she bit roughly on my lip, it was my turn to moan.

In that moment, the world stopped. Nothing else existed. We ravished each other. I could literally feel our mouths generating heat together. It was pure, unadulterated passion. In that moment, we both craved nothing more than each other.

Eventually we pulled apart, both breathing heavily. She was shaking, and I kept my arms around her to support her weight. She looked up at me again, and for the first time that night I recognized emotion in her eyes. Pain, sorrow, fear, and… acceptance. We both knew the inevitable was coming.

I carried her in my arms away from the window, hugging her close to my body. I gently set her down on the bed, never taking my eyes off hers.

"I promise." My words tasted strange in my mouth.

I slowly leaned down to kiss her forehead. And then I killed her.


End file.
